Method of making a weather strip



Jan- 16, 1940. C; A TEA.

yMETHOD OF MAKING A WEATHER STRIP Filed sept. 8, 1938 /NVENToR BY CLARK A. TEA A ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan.. 16, 1940 UNITED 'STATES tion of Delaware 8 Claims.

This invention relates to a weather strip especially adapted for use on motor vehicle bodiesto seal the opening around the doors or windows and more particularly to the method of making the o Balme.

It is an object of this invention to provide a weather strip which'is cheaper than conventional weather strips because of the method of making it.

' Another object of this invention-is to provide aweather strip which is strong, inherently resilient, and'inexpensive to make.

A further object of the invention is to provide a weather strip which is free to bend laterally in applying thev same to a curved opening. Y

A further object of the invention is t provide a weaher strip which has suiiicient resiliency to cause it to tightly engage the door or window for sealing purposes and yet adapted to take a per- .Y manent set when bent beyond "its elastic limit,

so that in applying the weather strip to an opening it may be bent beyond its elasic limit to conform to any irregularities around the opening and after being bent to'that position possesses sum- 5 cient resiliency to hex within given limits.

More specifically, the invention consists of taking a pre-formed wire spring and placing it between preglued backing members such as paper, or any other suitable material, and then flattent ing the coils of the wire by passing it between rollers, so that it lies iiat and the backing members are glued together. Then applying it to a ycentral portion of a cushioningfpart so that the;l attaching portion of `the weather strip extends into the cushioning part and laterally therebe-l yond. p

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptionofy the embodiments of my ini vention, reference being had to the accompanyin drawing in which:

Fig. l is a sectional view, parts being broken away and in section, of one application of the device as applied to an automobile door opening.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the weather strip alone, parts thereof being broken away and in section.

Fig. 3 is a view showing the method of rolling the spring flat so that it can be used as an attaching portion when covered by bachngor some other suitable material, the rollers being shown in section.

Referring to the drawing a portion of a vehicle body is shown at A in connection with a door B. '.IliehodyAisprovidedwithatackinginsertl` PATENT OFFICE 2,187,505 METHOD OFMAKINGA WEATHER STRIP clark A. Tes, Detroit, Mich., mimmta chrysler Corporation, Highland Park, Mich., a corpora- Application September 8, 1938, Serial No. 228,898

to which the weather strip is secured such as by tacksjt.

Referring to Fig. 3, an ordinary coil spring is placed` between backing material I0, such as pre-glued paper, and is rolled at by two rubber rimed rollers I I. After passing through the rollers II which ilatten the wire spring 9 and glue the paper I0 it passes through another set of rubber rimed rollers I which are closer together than the first named rollers II and which press the paper together and glue it more rmly than the first named rollers II. This method of making an attaching portion isr obviously very much cheaper than conventional methods of making them because of the relatively little work that is necessary to make the attaching portion, and because of the little machinery used.

Referring now to Fig. 2 the Weather strip comprises a resilient cylindrical member I2, an attaching member I3 which is inserted through a longitudinal slit I4 in the cylindrical member I2. If desired the resilient.ik cylindrical member I2 may be moulded around the attachingV member I3 obtaining thel same results. The entire weather strip is covered by a fabric I8.

4In order to give the parts enough rigidity and at the same time provide sumcient flexibility it is important to select a wire having a deilecion y characteristic which, when bent within limits, is elastic but when bent beyond its limits takes a base set and is elastic from that bent position. This is extremely important when the weather strip is appliedto4 an irregular surface. For example the strip may be manually bent beyond its elastic limit to t an irregular surface but when so bent it is elastic from that bent position. I have found that a wire suitable for this purpose should have an elastic limit between 250,000 lbs. per square inch and 350,000 lbs. per square inch and may be formed from what is commonly termed music wire having a diameter of approximately onefsixty-fourth of an inch.

In order to keep the coils of the spring the same distance apart it is necessary to apply tension.

The more tension that is applied the farther apart the coils are pulled. Therefore it is possible through this tension to regulatei the number of coils per inch, and makes it possible for the spring to be rolled evenly. g

What I claim is:

1. The method of manufacturing an attaching portion for a weather strip. which comprises placing a,helical1y coiled wire spring between backing members, flattening said spring and securing the backing members together.

`2. The method of manufacturing an attaching portion for a weather strip, which comprises placing a helically coiled .wire spring between pre-glued backing `members', iattening said spring and by so flattening. the spring gluing the 4. 'I'he method of manufacturing an attaching portion for a weather strip. which comprises placing a helically coiled wire spring-between pre-glued backing members, passing said wire spring while between said pre-glued backing members between rollerswhich atten out said spring and glue the backingv members together.

5. The method of manufacturing an attaching portion for a weather strip, which comprises placing a helically coiled wire spring between pre-glued backing members, passing said wire spring which-is between said pre-glued backing members between flrst,one set of rollers which ilattens out said spring and partially glues said lbacking members together and second, a second set of -rollers which are set much closer together and which press said backing ymembers ,closer together so as to assure goodv adhesion. d

6. The method of manufacturing a weather member.

strip, yhaving an attaching portion and a resilient cylindrical member, which comprises placing a helically coiled wire spring between backing members, iiattening said spring and securing the backing together, securing said attaching por tion to said cylindrical member, and covering the entire weather strip with a suitable covering.

7. The method of manufacturing a weather strip, having an attaching portion and a resilient cyiindrical'member, which comprises placing a helically coiled wire .spring between backing members, passing said wire spring which is between said backing between rollers which flatten out the spring and secure the backing members together, securing said attaching portion to said cylindrical member, and covering the entire weather strip with a suitable covering.

'8. The method of manufacturing a vweather strip, having an attaching portion and a resilient cylindrical member, which comprises placing a helically coiled wire spring between pre-glued backing members. passing said wire spring which is between said pre-gluedbackin'g'members between nrst, one set'of rollers which nattens out said spring and glues said backing members together and second, a. second set of rollers which are set much closer together and which press said backing members closer together so as to assure good adhesion, and securing said attaching portion within the body of said cylindrical CLARK s. TEA. 

